Saturday, June 25, 2016

Show #215

Hello Friends of the Garden!

Lately I've been catching up on long overdue work that I put off doing during the school year. Working, physical working, in this weather is truly tough! For an urban setting I have a fairly large lot. Whatever it is you do in my yard, you'll be at it a while. There is a lot of any job you choose to do, mowing, raking, trimming, you name it! 

With all that work to do I am physically occupied and as if it was on a sliding scale, my mind goes to rest for a brief time. That time is short lived as my mind begins to wander to any and everything. One time (actually several times), while mowing I would "talk" to my deceased Father. My Dad was always a religious sceptic. I wanted to know if there was some kind of life after death. I figured that I knew my Dad loved me and if anyone would do this for me he would. I was trying to get him to give me a sign that he was there, like make a stick fall from a tree or knock something over. Of course, nothing happened, I half blamed it on my lack of faith, the other half of the blame fell completely on my foolishness in the first place!

I don't always try to invoke the spirits of dead family when I'm alone and working and thinking. Often, I think about the issues of the day. Of course news and media thrust most of these issues to the forefront. Lately, as I'm raking or hauling, I can't help but think about how divided we are as people. We have found and are creating more ways to separate ourselves all over the globe! This happens at the smallest level to the most broad and wide-ranging ones. Think about it, gun owners vs. non-gun owners, right to life vs. abortion, Republicans vs. Democrats, Mac vs. PC, frackers vs. conservationists, Ford vs. Chevy, America vs. everybody, conservatives vs. liberals, Christians vs. all other religions and vice versa, it just never ends!

I always end my show with a plea for harmony. If you think about harmony from a musical standpoint it is different tones coming together to make one full sound, rich and layered. It's people doing their separate parts to add to the effort. I really don't feel that Clinton or Trump are creating harmony. It seems as a people we are more comfortable being polarized so we can find like-minded people to affiliate with. What we need are more Immanuel Kant's, Bertrand Russell's, Gandhi's and Jane Addams and less focus on Bill Maher and Rush Limbaugh. 

I'm just sad about the way I see the world through the media and wish that the news was dominated by how things got better and not worse! I know it's not all bad, but it's bad enough for me! 

Here's show #215! Once again there's a lot of new things! I'm still discovering the balance of old and new. Replaying the stuff you've learned to like is as important as playing the stuff you've never heard that you will like so, I'll always do both! This week has Spanking Charlene (funny name), Amy Rigby, Wynonna & the Big Noise, Black Pistol Fire, and finally, Billy Gibbons and the BFG's are all new to The Sunday Garden Party. There's also great new stuff from Tony Joe White and the Hard Working Americans. I felt a groove putting this together and it felt good! The last set is a little poke at England and the whole EU thing, it's all about the money! I'm finishing with a reminder to myself about my upcoming Panic show in Oakland, it's gonna be a good time!

Thanks as always Jerry and Robin, what a good team we are!

Thank you listeners! Try to drop a note to me once in a while! I promise to reply! You can help by sharing with a friend, or even better listening with a friend together doing whatever!

Peace and love!

Mike

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Show #214

Hello Friends of the Garden,


Wow, I'm slow again! This time I have a little bit of an excuse, I attended a wedding for my friends Jeff and Melissa on Friday. They were married at Glacier Point in Yosemite and their reception was at Yosemite Lodge. Jeff asked me if I would DJ their reception for them. 

I told him I would be happy to help him with the caveat that while I have a lot of music I don't necessarily have music they might want. Jeff assured me it would be alright and not to worry. Melissa however, had an Excel spreadsheet of music she wanted accompanied by a memory stick full of stuff. I recognized some of the music and most of it I didn't! It made me think of when Don Fischer was training me at KFSR. Don had told me to go grab several CD's and record something. I felt really weird trying to get excited about something I had no familiarity with at all!

This Friday I became more familiar with, Rihanna, Drake, Beyonce', Walk the Moon (?), Maroon 5, and countless others. I learned a lot! I learned that I know very, very little about "popular" music. I felt really old but oddly I felt really good too! I enjoyed watching the crowd enjoy themselves and that's where the connection was! They were dancing and jumping and whatever else and their spirits were free for a short time! That's me at a Widespread Panic concert! The fun and joy was the intersection that helped me bridge the gap. In the end we all had fun!

Yosemite and the wedding was beautiful! The other cool thing to me was getting to be part of another circle of friends and being welcomed so warmly! It was cool to hang with Tim, Jeff P.,David, J. Michael and Justin again. I wish the very best to my friends Jeff and Melissa in their marriage together. 

On a totally different note, I'm sorry that I didn't have time to meet with the President. Unfortunately, he was just arriving and I was on my way to more important things! It's a shame he missed his chance to meet me! Despite what you might hear, he seems like a cool guy! Oh well, he'll have other chances to meet up with me!

So, here's Show #214! There's a lot of "brand new" in this show! To start I cover a request form Sarah for more new Mudcrutch followed with new Honey Island Swamp Band and a cool Stones tune. The next set has all new stuff from The Hard Working Americans, The Sam Chase and the Untraditional, and Derek Hoke, all cool! Other new stuff from Ziggy Marley and Shawn Colvin are sprinkled through the rest. There's a pair of "Gardenerisms" on time and morning, some Robert Earl Keen for Jeff and three Tom Waits tunes all covered by female artists (huh?)! Lot's of fun stuff to hear!

Thanks as always Jerry and Robin! You guys are the best!

Thank you listeners! I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Peace, love and sunscreen!

Mike

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Show #213

Here's my first attempt so hang in there with me!

Hello Friends of the Garden!

I think many of you know I have a little house on the central coast of California. Buying that place so many years ago was the second smartest thing I've ever done in my life (obviously being married to my wonderful wife was #1)!

I'd like to say that we were visionaries and foresaw the "Tiny House" movement well before it's time. Truthfully, monetary constraints guided us much more than a desire to experience a minimalist lifestyle for it's simplicity. The simplicity occurred naturally given our economic status. That's fine, tiny or not, a little piece of heaven is still heaven!

When we first started going to the coast I used to think the drive was so far! Now, after 200 or more trips, it feels like a short commute. The drive goes by in little chunks that are so familiar! The landmarks pass by and before you know it, you're there!

It's funny when you recognize patterns in life! The school year is a lot like that drive to the coast, little familiar landmarks that pass by! It feels like during the school year my mind is totally consumed with getting the job done. It's a seemingly endless effort of trying to keep up, but it does end and it gets there mysteriously quick every time!

I think it's about being "full on" and then suddenly done that creates a strange dichotomy in my soul this time of year! My mind is so thankful to let go of one obligation for a brief time! A little breathing room has opened up and a sense of relief brings on a calmness. Feels good!

Here's a funny example of the convergence of irony and serendipity.  I had trouble with my iPhone and went to the Apple store on Friday. While waiting for help I got into a conversation with a nice lady seated across from me who was also waiting. She told me she needed to get home to her kids. I asked her if they had a half day on their last day of school. It was then she said she had to figure out what to do about her kids being at home all summer. I smiled and told her I was a middle school teacher and I was all done for this year and I was more than ready to turn them back over to their parents! Ah the gravity of supervision!  

Here's the deal with show #213! Since school is on my mind as well as every parent right now, please forgive my gratuitous playing of Alice Cooper. I think I'm playing my first Supertramp tune! I really like the Neil Young tune and that set features songs written by him. Besides Supertramp, Malcolm Holcombe and Sarah Elizabeth Campbell are also first timers on the SGP. Ooh, I really like the brand new The Sam Chase. I cover a couple of requests and sprinkle liberally with "Gardenerisms"! The whole show is mostly relaxed. It picks up here and there, but it's mostly easy (get it?)! Relax, I am!

Thank you Jerry and Robin! I hope anyone and everyone that reads this understands how I feel about your support! I feel it needs to be expressed every week! As time marches on, the importance of acknowledging my gratitude is imperative!

Thanks to all my listeners! So many of you are my friends and have been so supportive and encouraging! I truly enjoy writing this message and I understand if you can take or leave this part but I have gotten so much positive feedback that I can't see doing this any other way! I am so blessed by you, all of you, and you know who you are!

Peace, love and sunscreen!